Reviewed by Roberto Leal
Hulu’s original crime comedy series Only Murders in the Building seamlessly weaves together all the creative elements that go into making an outstanding production into a perfect storm.
From the opening title credits to the closing theme music and everything in between, Only Murders in the Building is a TV reviewer’s delight. It’s like being a kid in a candy store. The only problem with the kid-in-the-candy store dream scenario is confronting the onerous dilemma of which treat to pick first. Swing a dead cat in any direction in this Hulu series candy store and you hit a deliciously tasty treat.
But let’s start with the script.
Pushing Nouns Against Verbs
The script is the backbone of any play, TV show or movie. The screenplay or teleplay often goes unnoticed and unappreciated, but it is more than just pushing nouns against verbs on a blank computer screen.
The talented writing team of Only Murders in the Building, which includes series creators John Hoffman (Looking, Good Boy), and Steve Martin (Roxanne, L.A. Story), have crafted together a murder mystery that is at once engaging, intriguing, full of twists and turns, but also filled with razor-sharp sparkling dialog, witty verbal repartee and hilarious belly-laughs. A well-done murder mystery/comedy is a rare achievement., Arsenic and Old Lace (1943) and Woody Allen’s Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993) come to mind.
This is a generous writing team. Every member of the eclectic cast of Only Murders in the Building, which features pop superstar Sting and the brilliant Nathan Lane (The Producers, The Birdcage), gets their fair share of the crisp, quick-silver dialog.
Return of the Two Amigos
Two of the shining comedic stars in this series, Steve Martin and Martin Short, have teamed up to bring us unforgettable laughs in The Three Amigos, on SNL and recently in their two-man show, Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life, have perfected their on-screen comedic chemistry to a high-art form. Their timing is impeccable, imperceptible and effortless. These two guys could read ads out of a phone directory and make it work as a comedy routine.
Selena Gomez: The Unknown Chemistry Factor
The addition of young Latina actress and singer, Selena Gomez (Monte Carlo, Spring Breakers), at first glance seems like a risky casting choice. But it turns out to be a risk well worth taking. Gomez, who plays tough, potty-mouthed Mabel Mora, delivers her acid rejoinders and drops multiple “F” bombs with a droll, streetwise authenticity that will make her Disney Channel fans shriek in horror and disbelief.
Gomez’s delightful performance dovetails neatly with those of Martin and Short. Gomez’s, Mabel Mora, proves to be an essential and enjoyable part of Only Murders in the Building.
Location, Location, Location
Only Murders in the Building takes place in the Arconia Hotel. That picturesque hotel is one of those grand, old, high-rise New York City apartment buildings honeycombed with very cool, tastefully appointed digs you see in movies about New York City dwellers. The hotel is also populated with off-beat, quirky residents you also always see in movies about New York City dwellers.
But more importantly, the hotel is the scene of the brutal murder of one of the tenants. Martin, Short and Gomez join forces and form an unlikely team of sleuths determined to solve the homicide case. In the process, they create a True Crime Podcast. As with any well-written unsolved crime puzzle, the three amateur hotel detectives search for clues, develop leads and suspects, encounter red herrings and interact with each other in a relationship that blossoms into a bond of trust and friendship.
The old high-rise is an important character in the story. There are frequent establishing shots of the iconic edifice letting the viewer know this is the world where all those characters live. It is the place where all the action occurs. The hotel is the only character in the story who knows where all the incriminating skeletons and telltale dark secrets reside.
In the show’s opening credits, we pan up the outside of the hotel. In the first window, we see Steve Martin. We pan up further and see Martin Short through his window. Further up we see a pensive Selena Gomez. It’s an image that evokes the voyeurism of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window as Jimmy Stewart watches his neighbors through their windows in the building across from his apartment. It is an homage to Hitchcock and a reminder there was murder in that building as well.
Always Leave ‘Em Laughing and Wanting More
There’s an old showbiz adage that any stand-up comic worth his weight in Henny Youngman one-liners should always end with the audience laughing and wanting more. An effective whodunit should always make the audience feel like they are also detectives helping the heroes of the story solve the crime.
Season One of Only Murders in the Building ends with a shocking cliffhanger and a tantalizing tease that guarantees the show’s many new fans will anxiously and impatiently wait for Season Two.
Only Murders in the Building premieres on Hulu, August 31.
The cast: Steve Martin, Martin Short, Selena Gomez, Aaron Dominguez, Vanessa Aspillaga, Ryan Broussard, and Nathan Lane
Featured Photo: (Photo by: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu)